Fly the flag - but the right way up would be nice!

[sprucemoose]

Gentlemen, check your Moose!

I very much hope that this has since been resolved, but someone has just pointed out to me that the first C-17 to arrive at Brize Norton recently appeared on the front cover of an ever-so highly reputable and weekly defence magazine with an inverted Union flag on its fuselage.

No doubt this was down to an innocent mistake by some Joe on the production line in Long Beach, and I know it's only really going to offend the Welsh, but it's a bit poor.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[SET 18]

Ah well, Mr Sprucegoose, you should be very careful with your criticisms...

For those of you in the dark, I shall explain. The standard convention on an aircraft is to fly the flag on what would be a "clear" tailplane. This means that the flag appears the correct way round on the port side of the tailplane, but in the reverse (Starboard) side, the view is the same as that which one would see were the tailplane clear. This effect is particularly evident on US frames where the port side of the tailplane has a Stars and Stripes, whereas the Starboard side has the Stars in the top-right hand corner of the flag. This is what an observer would see if the flag were flying as the aircraft flew.

Anyway, what Sprucegoose almost certainly saw was a view of the Starboard side of the aircraft, hence the reversed Union Flag.

[sprucemoose]

Thanks, SET 18,

You're bang on - pic is of starboard side of UK1, while the flag appears correct to the port. Well, you learn something new every day, even if it's still a stupid way of doing it.

And it's MOOSE, not goose!

[SET 18]

sorry moose!!...